


Whispers in the Dark

by tahirire



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Comment Fic, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, One Shot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-05-04
Updated: 2009-05-04
Packaged: 2017-10-26 07:26:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 670
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/280361
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/tahirire/pseuds/tahirire





	Whispers in the Dark

Sam gets in the car and waits while Dean wipes his tears away. He knows his brother better than anyone, even now. Inside, he longs to say something, _anything_ , to help.

But he knows he can’t.

Dean gets in the car and his face is composed and still – his eyes staring forward into nothing. Sam shivers. He never wants to see Dean that still again. ( _Never wanted it in the first place, God_.)

What Dean needs right now is a rock. What Dean needs right now is a shield.

What Dean _doesn’t_ need, what Dean never needs again, is a little brother who needs him the way Sam used to need him, someone making even more demands on his newly repaired and still fragile soul.

Sam knows Dean is a hero, no matter what Dean thinks. He can feel it inside his brother, see it with another set of eyes, the aura surrounding Dean; it looks strong and true, unbreakable.

Sam knows now that it isn’t. But …

Even when the pieces of Dean’s protective bubble shatter and fall away, underneath the silver glow, Dean’s soul still burns brighter than any demonic light, stronger than any fallen star.

He’d say as much, but he knows Dean won’t hear it. Not from his little brother. Not from the one person he gave his life to save. Sam has always been Dean’s responsibility, never the other way around, and Dean’s not ready to give that up, not yet.

Dean always has been a stubborn bastard.

~*~

Sam searches the bar anxiously. Dean left _forever_ ago, and with the way he’s been drinking, Sam can’t help but worry.

“Hey, have you seen a guy,” Sam raises his hand to the appropriate height, “around this tall, leather –“

The bartender rolls her eyes and nods, cutting Sam off and pointing towards the back. “Bathroom. S’been a while.”

Sam winces. “Uh – thanks.”

Sam tries not to rush down the grimy hallway. He pushes the bathroom door open with the elbow of his jacket, covering his hand with the sleeve.

Sam finds Dean slumped over on the floor in between the sinks, and after a pulse of ( _oh God,notagainPLEASEnotagain_ ) panic and a thorough once-over, it become clear that Dean is just…

Passed.Out.Drunk.

Sam sighs out his relief, and it is followed closely by his anguish. His chest feels tight, his throat is starting to burn, and he just can’t watch this anymore, he doesn’t know _how_.

It’s a struggle getting Dean back to the car, and by the time they make it there Sam can’t feel his arms for all the (not dead, God, _never_ again) weight he’s carrying.

Sam pulls himself wearily into the back seat, tugging Dean’s inert form along with him until his brother is half in his lap with his legs hanging out of the open door, and it all just … _comes_.

“Dean, come on man, don’t do this to me.”

(Sam is stronger now, stronger than he’s ever been.)

He cradles his brother in his arms.

“I can’t … I don’t know how to … God, Dean, just wake up, I hate it when you …”

(Sam is independent now, a rock, someone Dean can lean on.)

Sam clutches Dean’s shirt, pressing tight until he feels the steady beat of his heart.

“You don’t get it, do you, how much you … what you’re _worth_ , Dean.”

(Sam has power now, he’s the one, the one to take on Hell and _win_.)

Sam whispers his best kept secret into the dark, right into his brother’s ear, and hopes it finds its way into Dean’s weary soul.

“I can’t do this, Dean. Not without you.”

Dean stirs, mumbling incoherent phrases into the leather seat. Pressing his eyes shut tight, Sam prays that somehow, the message was received.

He nestles his brother carefully into the Impala’s warm embrace and heads to the front. In the sky, the stars are shining brightly. In the back seat, Dean is deep in rest.

Inside of Sam, all there is is darkness.


End file.
